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Thinking About the U.S. Navy

Commentary

Many years ago I was in the United States Navy, a junior officer on the deck of a small ship homeported in Japan. These memories never leave you and have been in my mind now with the recent naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. I can almost guarantee you that enforcing blockades was not a skill taught at Navy Officers Candidate School. Attacking, shelling, ship-to-ship warfare, amphibious landings—yes. Blockade enforcement?—I cannot recall that having ever been taught. Yet, I am not greatly concerned. I found during my 3 ½ years on active duty, including Vietnam, that Navy ...

NEW YORK STATE: Revisiting sex offender classifications

The OBSERVER’s View

Republicans in the state Assembly want to place all convicted sex offenders - even those classified as low risk of reoffending - on the state’s publicly searchable sex offender registry. Currently, only sex offenders classified as Levels 2 (moderate risk) or Level 3 (high risk) are listed on the publicly searchable areas of the database. The legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Joe Angelino, R-Binghamton, has been publicly requested at least twice publicly by Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley in the wake of a case in Onondaga County after a man classified as a Level 1, low risk ...

Same crisis wearing different clothes

Commentary

America has a spending problem. It also has a health care problem. These are not two separate crises but rather the same crisis wearing different clothes. The Cato Institute’s new “Handbook on Affordability” is a great resource to understand the root problem and how to fix it. Start with a recap of the fiscal picture. The federal government runs large deficits so persistently that they’ve become a structural threat to price stability. As Romina Boccia and Dominik Lett argue in the handbook’s second chapter, when debt expands faster than the economy, investors begin pricing in ...

COUNTY: Unpaid EMS fees sign of trouble

The OBSERVER’s View

Two Chautauqua County fire districts not paying EMS fees billed by Chautauqua County isn’t a big deal - yet. County officials said in a news release recently that the county is taking steps to resolve unpaid fees owed by the Forestville and Frewsburg Fire Districts for Advanced Life Support ambulance intercepts. If payment agreements aren’t reached, the county may suspend some services provided in the areas. We hope it doesn’t get to that, though county officials said Forestville and Frewsburg fire district officials have hired attorneys after raising “novel constitutional ...

Pen Pals can make great friends

Commentary

I have a pen pal. Her name is Alice Congdon. Alice is the youngest member of the wonderful Congdon clan. This amazing family is made up of Kevin, Megan, Jake, Henry and Miss Alice. I met this wonderful and caring family when Jake and Henry were outstanding student athletes at Northern Chautauqua Catholic School. Miss Alice was often a visitor at NCCS. More times than not, when Alice visited NCCS, we would end up reading a book together in my office. When my cancer diagnosis forced me to leave NCCS , the Congdons stayed in close contact. They sent me cards, letters and treats. They ...

A forgotten war as we aim for Iran

Commentary

Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Presidential candidate Donald Trump said at least 53 rimes in 2023 and 2024 that, as President, he would end the war in Ukraine “in one day.” Now well over 400 days since his inauguration as President, Russia’s war against Ukraine continues. Russia’s brutal, illegal war against Ukraine, illegal under international law as partly developed by Jamestown’s own Robert H. Jackson, Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals, has lasted longer than World War II for the United States (December 7, 1941-Auugust ...